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Taken Oct. i« 



MRS. ARABELLA V. CHASE. 



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VV. CALVIN CHASE. 



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WASHINGTON, D. C. 

WILLIAM CALVIN CHASE, JR., 

PRINTER. 

1905. 






LIBRARY Of GONSHESS 
Two Copies fiecsjvtse 

JAN 26 1905 



:^kiSS CKy XXC. iMoi : 
I COPY 8. 



^ 






E- ittred according t© Act of CoDgrtss 
in tht y«tr 1905, by 
— Arabella Virginia Chase, — 
in the ofticeofthe Librarian of Cen- 
trals, at Wtshinyten. 



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i 



PRBFJIGE. 



\ 



This is the first and only volume which li?.s been 
presented to the public on Peculiar pcopk^ 

The purpose is to give credit where it is i^ue and 
censure all that is detrimental to a nation. 

The attention of the reader is directed to the source 
from which the Peculiar people came. 

All thechanges, from what they v. ere to what they 
arc, have not been noted, only those of the greatest 
importance. 

The aim of this volume is to arouse the Peculiar 
people themselves to renewed activity, and cause all <[ 
others, who may read its pages, to open their hearts j 
to the truths herein stated. 

Many people have reached the conclusion that the 
Peculiar people are inferiors, collectively and individ- 
ually, and that they are not progressirg. 

The common custom of referring to the dark skinn- 
ed people as Negroes and colored people must be leg- 
islated out of existence, and this volume is intended 
to set the people to thinking, then to vielding to the 
right.andfinally to complying with the Golden Rule. 

Many statements may not please every one, never- 
theless they are true. 

Were the criticisms all against the Peculiar people 
tHt wotild sty the author has pictured tkem well; 



PREFACE. 



were the praises all for those citizens not identified 
with the Peculiar people, others would say tht au- 
thor is uncharitable. 

The author begs to state that she has made a 
study of all classes of citizens and has found that 
much of the strife now existing maybe obviated by 
following the principles mentioned in this volume; if 
every person will feel that he is an American citizen 
and lose sight of the complexion of his skin, the great- 
est hindrance will be moved. 

This book is intended to act, on its readers, like a 
cake of leaven in a pan of dough. 

The results which will come from having read this 
volume may be as "Bread cast upon the waters, seen 
and gathered after many days." 

This book contains nothing to offend the most re- 
lined. 

In preparing this book the author has been greatly 
aided by experience, and after serving such an able 
teicher, feels that she is doing her whole duty ia pre- 
senting it to the public. 

The author's daughter, who is an accomplished 
pianist, and son, who is a clever cornetist have ren- 
drred substantial aid in the presentation of this work. 

Her son, not only did all the typographical 
and p>ess work but prepared the book for the bind- 
ers, and her daughter was the am nuensis and 
proof reader; both children are less than eighteen 
years of a^e. 

Because of the manly position maintained at all 
\lime5,in the interest of humanity, the author dedicates 

ihi:i book to her husband, A\'iliiam Calvin Chase. 

\ 



G8F)IFEB5FS. 



DIVISION PAGE 

I Their Origin 9 

II He; Becomes Peculiar 13 

III A Misapplication 16 

IV Useless Legislation 20 

V No Longer Beggars 25 

VI His Abode 28 

VII Business and Social Comdition 31 
YIII Imitativeness and Results 35 

IX The Polititical Atmosphere 37 

X Good Citizenship 45 

XI Unwholesome Practices 50 

XII Excerpts and Commekts 53 
SUMMARY -,..-- 59 



P PBG&mifiR I?B0PLiP. 

DIVISION I. 
Their Origin. 

In the beginning God created the Heavens and the 
Erith, So God created man in His own imr.ge; male 
and female created He them. It was about the tenth 
jieneration after the creation of the first man, Adam, 
that there weie three bicthers, Shem, Kam, Japeth, 
Y»ho were the sons of Noah. Of these three sons was 
the whole world over.'^pread. 

Their father, Noah, was a husbandman and it may 
be safely said that by him were sown the seed of intem- 
perance as applied to intoxicant drinks. Noah made 
his own wine of which he drank and was mRclc drunk. 
When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his 
younge.st son, Ham, had done to him while he was un- 
der the influence cf the wine, he became displeased 
and cursed him. 

Th;s was the intended plan of the Divine Cr ester in 
order to bring about a separation in Noah's fiimily. 
Under no circumstances could Noah have been in- 
duced to give one of his sons to go in a .=trange coun- 
try if all three had remained dutiful and loving. 

God had a reason for permitting Ham to be the soq 
cursed by Noah, and that reason is as much a my.<;te ry 
to-day as it was when the disruption of that happy 
family took place. 

Not-withstanding the final decision of Noah and the 
rejection of Ham and hi.^ son, the whole world, about 
this time was of one language and one tongue. 

An idea was conceived and all the people were of 
oi-e accord in the effort to put into execution the idea. 



TO A PECULIAR PEOPLFl 



The undertaking was to build a tower which should 
reach from earth to heaven, which attempt alone 
■ 'roved that, although the workers may have diflTercd 
jaoitward appearances, there was a oneness of princi^ 
})le. 

In all things that had been created the greatest wis- 
dom had been displayed as to kinds. 

A great universe had been made and was to be peo- 
pled by the descendants of three brothers; would 
there be any rivalry, competition,, or advancement of 
the purpose for which man was created if scattered 
over the face of the world and all speaking one tongue? 

No moie opportune time than when engaged irv 
building the tower was thers for confusing their lan- 
guage and giving to the world the many kinds of lan- 
guages found in the difterent parts of the world. 

This once happy family of parents and three broth- 
ers had been parted, each going to some other clime. 

Ham settled in Africa and sent many branches into 
Asia. The formation ofa new people was begun and 
Ham became the father ofa people known as Ethio- 
pians, who were men of stature and fine looking. 

In the days of Christ this country was governed by 
a line of Queens, who contended and successfully re- 
sisted the Romans. 

Ethiopia means burnt in color, and the accepted 
defimition of burnt \n color is black. The Egyptians 
define Ham as dark-skinned, burnt or black in color. 

The presumption is that the intense heat of Africa 
hid much to do with the complexion of its inhabitants 
may nc t be ^. holly wrong. Ham was the color of his 
parents, notwithstanding he was also the father of the 



THEIR ORIGIN. ii 



Africmns. 

Many of Ihe Africans were black or very dark and 
diitinguished by having crisp or curly hair^ high 
cheek bones, thick and protruding lips. These are 
called Negroes. 

All Negroes are African*?, but all African* are nf )t 
Negroes, any more than all Europeans are not Turks. 

Ham had four sons and twenty-four grand sons, and 
some of the principal nations which sprang from Ham 
and his sons were the Ethiopians, Lybians and Ca- 
naanites. 

Selecting at this point the Negro, for it is he with 
whom I shall deal, a most important change takes 
place in the relation he sustains to the woild. 

A new Continent w^s discovered, which Vv^as named 
Aermica. In the year 1630, a Dutch trading vessel 
brought to the shore of this new country, Ameriac, 
a number of Negroes from the sunny clime of Af- 
rica, who were sold into bo.idage to the settlors, who 
had come to the new country in quest of peace, hap- 
piness and the right to enjoy their lives as free men. 

These slares were true, full-blooded Negroe* and 
in no section of America did the slave traffic prosper 
more than in th:it part i<nown as Virginia; it has the 
d'stinction of having been foremost in the slave trade. 

The number of sUves in America gr<*utly increased 
but the most ast3nishing fact was that each bir.h 
which made the number of slaves greater did not pro- 
duce a simon-puie Negro, no not by any mean^. 
Surely the climatic effect on the Negro in A.nciicd, 
his new home, was marvelous. Instead of the blaci< 
face, curly hair, fl^t nose, high cheek-bones, thicx 



12 ■ A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



and protruding lips, there were light skins, sharp 
noses, straight hair and thin lips. 

Where, oh where had he gone? The Negro had been 
displaced and was undergoing another change. 
America's soil was unable to produce the Negro,- 



HE BECOMES PECULIAR. 15 



DIVISION II. 

He Becomes Peculiar, 

An edict was heralded throughout this conntry, at 
the close of the rebellion, that slavery was forever- 
more abolished In the United States of America; that 
tht shackles, which had held so rasny of God's creat- 
ures in bonds, were loosed and should fall from the 
enslaved. 

Not one Negro has entered this land, as a slave, 
since the edict went forth. Some few have com* 
seeking an English education, and still fewer seekinjj 
to become citizens. 

The constitution of the United States was created 
for the government of its citizens, and while it did not 
cover the ex-slave as a citizen, it was only necessary 
to make amendments and such was done, to protect 
him in his rights and privileges. 

Amendments which gauranteed to every citizen e- 
qual rights before the law, regardless of race, color 
or previous condition of servitude were added to the 
constitution. 

In his message of December 1862. President Lin- 
coln said, "That portion of the Earth's surface which 
is owned and inhibited by the paopla of the United 
States of America U well adapted to be the home of 
one national family, and it is not well adapted to two 
or more". 

He had in mind the political condition of the peo- 
ple, as there existed m^ny and varied political opin- 
ions. 

The same expresdoa is as •pplicable to-day as it 



14 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

. - ■ ■ — ' 

was when it WIS first made, Tliis land roul 1 not b? 
thf home of the slave and his master at the same time, 
and aF sla\ er y had the weaker hold it had to go. With 
slavery went he Americanized Ne^ro. 

The onee Negro finds himself iransf)rmed, th:s and 
all his descendants are no longer wh-it they were 
when they fitst saw the light of day. The Negro first 
became a slave and at the close of the rebellion he is 
so differently situated as to be to himself peculiar and 
he, like the man from whom he sprang, becomes 
the father of a peculiar people. 

Such rapid transformation in a class of people has 
seLiom, if ever been known. A class of ptople bo:n 
on the soil of America, resembling other people i.i 
every respect; having the same likes and di.>like: ; 
having the same capacity for good and bad as otbcfis; 
made in the likeness of the same Creator as others-; 
developing the same traits of character as others; rrn- 
dering the same service to the same country at the 
same time in the hour of it^ peril-s, even to the sacri- 
fice of blood and life. 

Every person should be proud of the race to whicli 
he belongs, as God designed that all men should te 
of one race and tongue. 

Thes-s Peculiar People may, with o'diers of this na- 
tion, say that their ancestora belonged to a weil de- 
fined race of people. 

The race question is lost in the Unitc-d States UiiJ 
stands for nothing, for accordicg to tiie governing 
laws, no man n known except as a citizen. 

The change in the Peculiar People wis broui^nt 
about by contact, bv doine away with slavery and by 



HE BECOMES PECULIAR 15 



legislative acts. 

One thing which makes them peculiar i.-; so much 
needless discussion of a Vegro question. The Ne^ro 
is in Africa, presumably contented and is rot aw^re 
of the fact that the American citizen is a?itating: the 
Negro question. In the American republic there is 
no more Negro question than there is a German or a 
Grecian question. Why should there be anv such? 
The American ration is one in aim, success, floating 
one banner and having one constitution, by which all 
are governed. 

The Negro question must have a Negro flag and 
constitution to protect it and those who are agitating 
the question know that no such thing could be toler- 
ated on any soil except that in the possession of the 
Negroes, 

The all absorbing thoughts should be: How best 
to serve the land which has given them birth; how to 
assist in increasing the productions of that land; how 
to develop her interests; how to make the very best 
citizens and how to demand respect as such. 

It is impossible to determine the exact motives of 
any person who persists in plf-arling the cause of a 
people ns a race problem. It is calculated to do ir- 
reparable damag:e to the whole of the Peculiar Peo- 
ple, also it 14 likely to reduce the number ;of friends 
to the ?ame. Only one question can arise which will 
dem-ind the attention of each and every citisen and 
that must always be a national one. 



i6 A PECULIAR FEOFLE. 



DIVISION III. 
A Misapplication, 

The term ''colored" is misapplied when used in 
reftrtnte to any people as a part of the whole. Ei- 
ther al! people are colored or none are colored. 

But it is an undeniable fact that each human beingf 
IS tirged someuhal; some more than others. 

White means that which is without a tint or shade 
of proper colors, or their mixtures, resembling pure 
snow. 

The Caucasians, then, are not pure white, there is 
simply less coloring matter in their make»i]p. Their 
features are acute, Iheir intellect vehement and they 
easily rank among the most progressive of people. 

The individual who is white deserves the deepest 
sympathy of his fellow beings, for he must be sorely 
afflicieu with some fearful malady which destroys the 
coloring Kir.tter contained in the epidermis. 

All citizens of this republic belong to one of three 
classes; they belong to the dark, the light or the 
lightest class. 

There are some members of the Peculiar People as 
fair as any who may be seen in the most refined Cau- 
casian gathering, 

A conductor being unable to decide as to the prop- 
er place for one of his passengers, on a car where th» 
separate car law existed, asked the passenger if she 
were white or colored, she told him to find out for 
him-self, and he said no more but let the matter drop. 

A small girl once asked another if she were white, 



A MISAPPLICATION. 17 

she received an affirmative answer, she doubted th« 
correctness of thQ answer by saying, "You are too 
black to be white. 

None are white, none are black. 

Some one is to blame for this misapplication and 
who can it be? When a man mistreats and discrim- 
inates against himself others will do unto him the 
same. So it is but becoming each to see to it that 
he is not the guilty one. 

The Peculiar people are themselves to b'ame for 
much of the discrimination against themselves. 

News-papers are the circulatory system for dissem' 
inating all matter known as news. The affairs of one 
section become interesting to another seetioD by 
means of news-papers. They mould public senti- 
ment and they are the means by which much good 
or evil may be done. 

All depend upon their proper management. Some 
news-papers state in bold type on their front page, 
that they are Nesjro Journals, edited by Negroes, m 
the interest of the Negro. The very assertion is dis- 
gusting and perchance will bring the blush of shame 
and humiliation to the reader of such a paper. 

Is therein all this land of America a ncv/s-paper 
known as a Caucasian paper, edited by Cfii2casia?3s, 
in the interest of Caucasians? 

There are papers to be read by the people and the 
solicitors for subscribers accept every person who is 
willing to pay the subscription. 

Why will those supposed to be learned, amoiig the 
Peculiar people, injure their undertaking by calling 
themselves what they are not? 



i8 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



Is the metal used is the press and tbetype^brougbli 
from the mines, owned and worked by Negroes ia 
Africa? 

Is the paper used the result of Negro owntrship 
acd workmanship, and if so were these materials 
brought to the shores of America on vessels ownt(3 
and manned by Negrces? 

Are the men who conduct these so-called Negro- 
Journals born in America? No American journals 
edited by men of American birth can be considered 
as Negro Journals. 

The argument that the news in these papers con- 
cern the Negro is most ludicrous and not self-sup- 
porting. A perusal of many hundred weekly papers, 
which the owners of them say are Negro papers^ 
prove that eight out of every ten have the same arti- 
cles on and pictures of the same personages as found 
in American journals. 

All this refutes the possibility of a Negro news-pa- 
per. All the patent back work is that ofeiiterprising 
Americans which makes bare the truth that some per- 
sons take advantage of what others may do and at 
the same time misapply terms. 

Persons must seek to know what true journalism is 
and give to a reading public that which is elevating 
and worth reading. 

Negroes are Negroes and eannot be put upon pa- 
per and read. No enterprise should be handicapped 
by calling it a Negroe's. 

A Negro store is a place, located in Africa, where 
one may purchase a Negro, and no one would enter 
vnless in search of a Negro. 



A MISAPPLICATION. i^ 

Any kind of butinost nifty be suece^sfuDy carried 
«n by ftny member of the three cUises of citizens 
previoufly nemed. 

Apr«per estimate of education, industry and thrift 
nust inspire the fore-most thinkers, and they must, 
cast aside overythinc^ which retards. 



so A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



DIVISION IV. 
Useless Legislation. 

Thcsa people need no special acts of legislation and 
noepecified mode of benevolence, Being apart of 
this nation, the day has long since passed fcr them to 
ask and expect favors. 

The affairs of life may assume uninviting attitudes, 
but in due time everything will be adjusted a.id will 
work out for the good of all who wait. Just as Ham 
was the youngest of the sons of Noah, so are these 
Peculiar people among the youngest of Natural born 
American citizens, all of whom are bound together by 
a national tie, too strong to be easily broken. 

The greatest importance of these people did net 
begin at Iheir liberation from the bonds cf servitude, 
but like the towering oak which began its life in the 
shape ot an acorn, their importance is growing aid 
increasing. With advancement and age come a full 
development of maturity and strength. 

These people have suffered much and have suffered 
long, and yet since the light of freedom has been shed- 
ding its rays along the road of progress, much of the 
past has been blotted out of remembrance. 

To ask and expect favors as a distinct race of peo- 
ple if one of the many peculiarities of these peopie, 
and it is not at all in keeping with the coivftiiution of 
this republic. If a persistent demand is made for Fpe- 
cial and separate legislation, because their ancestors 
were brought here as slaves, then, a most serious 
mistake is made; one that may ever retard their pio 
gress; a mistake which may alv» ays ktep thcmintl.e 



XJS^LESS LEGISLATION. ai 



position of inferiors^ as members ofthis nation; a mis- 
take which will give to other members of this nation 
an equal right to ask for separate legislation;a mistake 
which will render the weak still weaker and make 
the strong more powerful; a mistake which will be a 
little less than a hot-house for envy, strife, prejudice 
and a vast number of obstacles in the way of advance- 
ment. 

No whore on this globe is there such a demand for 
unity in every respect as there is in the United Stc^tes 
■cf America, Color identity is comlpetely absorbed in 
the very nar'-o nppH;'^ *'-^ tht? section. 

If the States are united the people who compose 
those states must be united also. They are one, and 
color, nor pr^.vious condition of servitude can alter 
the fact that all citizens of this republic are to be gov- 
erned by the sams moral and civil laws. 

There may be, and indeed there are, irregularites 
existing now which are productive of a feeling of un- 
fairness in the administration of our laws, but the 
laws themselves are not responsible. 

Like humidity rising from the earth, tha oppressive 
feeling of discrimination is noticeable; the higli 
against the low; the rich against the poor, and the 
descendants of former slaves against the descendants 
•of the former slave-holder. 

Words would fail to express the re.^ults of di-;crim- 
iaation if it were possible to have special legisla: ioa 
for the government of one set of people. 

Undoubtedly the results would be disastrous an \ 
the discontent and maladminisiration which woul : 
follow could not be paralled. 



22 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



An incorrect statement is made by saying that the 
taking of life, by the method of lynching, is the work 
of white men, and according to the constitution of the 
United State the men who are lynched are not color- 
ed men. Race obligations are violated, and the laws 
of our country are trampled under the feet of men 
and few there are who know the facts as they exist. 

Oiie set of citizens conceive an idea that the laws 
are not to be respected, and attempt to violate them. 
Their acts are not controlled by self respect and na* 
turally they have not the right conception of Ameri' 
can citizenship. 

Then, there are those who take upon themselves 
the right to administer the correction according to 
their own discretion. 

American citizens are lynched by American citizens 
and the only legislation needed is that which will 
prevent one citizen from taking the administration of 
the law out of the hands of those appointed. 

The good member of this government must know 
thnt his protection does not depend upon the color of 
his skin, and the criminal member of this government 
must know that the laws for the criminal portion are 
blind to everything but justice. 

Humanity demands such legislation and right and 
justice ask for the enforcement of the same. The 
conxideration of color is not worthy of mention. 

With the proper application of the laws, this country 
of the free, would have fewer blemishes and the Pe- 
culiar people would be an honor. The laws arc suffi- 
cient to protect every man, who is a part of the Unit- 
ed States, and all the acts of violence, committed by 



USELESS LEGISLATION. 23 

citizens, are against the laws which have been enacted 
for the preservation of rational peace and prosperity. 

Those holding the rtins of government are respon- 
sible for any infringment on or disregard for the laws 
of another country, by the citizen of this republic. 

The whole American nation must feel the effects ot 
of the acts of its people. What is needed is a law to 
compel those ia power to rigidly enforce and carry 
out the principles upon which this government is 
based. 

The ways devised by the maker of all mankind are 
beyond the conception of any of His created beirgF, 
and cannot be explained. His rod of chastisement 
assumes many and varied shapes. 

Flood and flames, which lay low in destruction's 
path all that is dear to human happinefs:- life and 
property, are afflictions sent upon the American na- 
tion and not upon the black man nor the white man. 

Are there those who can question the motive or tbe 
justice of the Divine Father? 

If one truth stands out more prominently than all 
others, itis that the Ruler ofthis universe makes no 
discrimination. The fairest of Americans receive no 
more consideration in the howling tempest than the 
darkest ones. After the fury r f the storm has pass- 
ed and an estimate of the loss of life has been calcu- 
lattd, a conclusive evidence of the justice of God is 
manifested. All that is left of former citizens iscon- 
sij^ned to mother eaith, from which all originated!. 
The loss of life is not felt from a racial .'^t an (* point, but 
first from family connection and next fiom the nation- 
al, as the entire population is affected. 



?4 A PECULIAR PROPLF. 

In a dry and parched season, when all vegeoatioo 
suffers, the PecuHar people are not the only ones de- 
sirous for a change, but all the other people who goto 
make this great nation. 

Does it not appear to be very much out of harmony 
Aith nature, for man, weak in his own strength, to 
drav\, the line cf distinction on himself and on his fel- 
low flian.^ 

Ail cc-iamities p.ra intended a«^. vvc-rninrs that all 
m.en are born eqiiak 



KO LONGER BEGGARS. 55 

^1*1** III , ■ ■ I 

DIVISION V. 
No Longer Beggars^ 

The position to be desired is one of elevation and 
trust, which is sufficient to produce & stlf reliancy in 
the hearts of any people. 

The paramount disposition must muke the people 
feel that the success of this nation depends largely 
on their loyalty to the constitution. 

*'A man must live by the sweat of his brow'\ The 
present condition of these people is not in-dicative of 
pauperism, and a charge of systematically begging 
Kzannot be applied to them. The asking oi help to 
promote a cause which makes the nation stronger fi- 
nancially and intellectually, is not to be condemed, 
but complimented and supported. 

The better the material used in building a ship the 
more capable that ship is of standing the storms when 
making voyagesv 

The intelligence of a nation increases in proportion 
to the increase of the intelligence of those who consti- 
tute it, so if aid is given to any school the good resuls, 
like a wave, stretch out to others, 

A petition for assistance on the basis of previous 
servitude should receive little or no encouragement 
at all. Great care is necessary or irrepar.ible criii- 
cism may follow misrepresentation. 

There are those of the United States who reaar! 
the Peculiar people asunworthy ofcc nfidence and un- 
fit for citizenship, especially those who are so narrow 
as to have no wish to discover qualities of value in 
anj but themselves. 



26 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



Ministers, who ought to know the truth and teach 
and preach it, make many blunders and do not give 
credit when and where it it due. 

Not since the formation of this government has 
there been so much false doctrine preached from the 
pulpits, as at this time. 

The pulpit should aid in elevating struggling hu- 
manity. But the sacred desk is being defiled and 
used for the purpose of injuring a large part of this 
nation, instead of imparting the truth that *^^A11 men 
are born free and equal." 

The Bible might as well be discarded in some 
churches, for the object intended to be accomplished 
has been relegated to the rear. There are some, also, 
who believe that the Peculiar people deserve respect 
and fair treatment. 

Their argument is that a people having passed from 
one stage to another, developing at each the ability 
to cope with others, cannot be easily crushed and ig- 
nored. There are those, who by their efforts, serv- 
ing as monuments of honor. 

These people will be sought aod desired, notwith- 
standing the opposition of to-day;they are not idlers. 
No good material is rejected in the construction of a 
building. "The stone which the builders refused has 
become the Head Stone of the corner." 

The American nation may be called upon to face 
the combined powers of the world, and who can tell 
but what the future salvation may hinge on the posi- 
tion held by these Peculiar people. 

A nation, whose bounds are ever expanding, can- 
not say of its members "There is no need of thee." 



NO LONGER BEGGARS. 39 



The Amtrican republic would be as incomplete with- 
out these Peculiar people, as a man would be without 
one of his limbs. 

The place once filled by pauperism is now filled by 
the desire to be strong and serviceable, 



aS A PECULIAR PEOPLE.. 

DIVISION VL 
His Abode. 

The suggestion that this people leave this country 
and go to some other climef is not American and is 
unbecoming a great nation; for these reasons alonr 
no legal ste^ 9 have been taken to carry into txecu- 
tion any stich suggestion. 

Shall people be forced to leave their home and go 
to dwell among strangers? The Peculiar people hava 
no claim on any land except the one which made them 
citizens. 

Had this government sent to Africa all tht descen- 
dants of the first slaves, when slavery was abolished, 
instead of making new citizens of them, affairs would 
have been materially different and quite the reverse 
of what they are to-day. 

But, no, the prevailing sentiment was that the once 
enslaved people would, if given a chance, make bet* 
ter citizens than they had slaves. 

There are some among and identified with the Pe- 
culiar people who advocate the emmigration scheme 
and assign many reasons, but none are plausible 
enough for this government to lenil any assistance. 
At the bottom of these schemes lie bidden tht real 
motives. 

The Caucasian part of this republic has an equal 
right to go to Africa and permantntly reside. Noth- 
ing could be, nor would be, thought were a combina- 
tion of the fairest members of the United States to 
enter and claim possession of some parts of Africa. 

Were not the Indians, who were onct happy on 



HIS ABODE. 19 



their pleasant hunting: grounds, routed and cheated 
out of their btlongings? Were they not deprived of- 
and killed off the very land which Is now called "Tht 
land of the free and the home of the bsave'7 

Like all other people these new citizens have their 
faults, and very many of them are borrowed faults. 

It cannot be said of any nation that it is free from^ 
faults, because the people who make the nations ar« 
not perfect. Perfection in any people will not be at- 
tained in this life, but improvement in all things ii 
admissible. 

This being the home of the Peculiar people, it is 
also the place for correcting, as far as possible, alL 
mistakes; it is the place for acquiring strength. They 
•re not as strong in national affairs as they will be 
and yet the time is at hand for them to stand alone. 

There is no reason why, after years of suceessfulc 
struggles, the]r should be fed from a bottle and treat-- 
«d as nurselings. 

In their early adoption as citizens of the United 
States, they were weak and unsteady and needed 
help> but to continue to expect the same retards their 
progress. The responsibility of thinking and. acting 
like other people rests upon ',them. To discriminate 
between good and bad is the right of every man; no 
bonds now hinder the persuance of right, and an hon- 
est discharge of duty to one's self will prove condu- 
cive to good citizenship and an elevation in the esti- 
mation of home-people. 

No people ever ascended to real prominence with- 
out opposition, -which had to be boldly met and cour* 
ageously subdued. Perplexities multiply as a pro- 



39 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



gresstve people advance in life's march, and no peo* 
pie may expect to amount to much at home if every 
thins moves on gently. 

Certainly by the Peculiar citizens remain'n? at 
home, no other member of the national family is 
forced out of his place; there is room for all. There 
is even room for other nationalities to come in and se- 
cure the wealth of the land and return to their own 
homes and enjoy it; there is even room for the anar* 
chist to come in and slay the chief executive of the 
Anieri:an republic. Then, surely the inoffensive off- 
spring of American slavery, bred and born on Ameri- 
can soil, in the midst of the offsprings of American 
slave-holders, will be accorded the sime right to re^ 
main at home and enjoy the privileges of his home, as 
is given to the other citizens. At any rate these Pecu- 
liar people are quite willing to make any allowance 
for many shortcomings; it is evident to them that the 
whole nation is young and is doing fairly weH. 

By the time ii becomes very old there will be no 
distinction at all, but the whole world will look oo 
and say, "Behold them, see how they dwell togeth* 
er in l^ve.'* 



BUSINESS, AND SOCIAL CONDITION. si 

DIVISION VII. 
Business, wealth and social condition. 

When the Peculiar people started out as citizens of 
this republic, they were worse than poor in purse, as 
all the labor of their fore-fathers had been used in set- 
ting: the slave-holders and their children up in busi- 
ness. 

For some time these people were obliged to confine 
their attention to whatever presented itself in the 
line of work. It was not the intention of the Divine 
Creator that all these people should be tillers of soil, 
no, not by any means. 

Each year since the emancipation,the number of Pe- 
culiar people>ngaged in some profitable business has 
been increased and thebusiness conducted on larger 
and broader principles. 

The progress made by the Peculiar people has been 
as great as that made by any people,, under similar 
circumstances in the same length of time. 

By a careful and judicious application to business 

the wealth of these people has steadily grown and it 

is not an uncommon occurence to find many of the 

Peculiar people possessing as much, if not more, than 

many of the children of the first settlers. 

To be sure these people are like others of the na- 
tion; all of no class of people are thrifty; there are 

some who are idle, indifferent and burdensome, but 
the same kind are to be found among the fairest of 
this nation. 

The bulk of property, owned by the Peculiar peo- 
ple, would be greater if wages were better and ex- 



3i A PECULIAR-PEOPLE. 

horbitant prices were not charged when an attempt 
is made to purchase real-estatt. 

All kinds of obstacles are placed in the way. A 
piece of ground will be sold to one of the fairest citi- 
zens for what it is worth, but if one of the darkest 
citizens desires to purchase a like piece he will be 
charged twice its real value. 

Notwithstanding all over-charges these people 
are becoming wealthy, and i\ proves a capability of 
making the best citizens. 

It is conceded that in the homes of most of these 
people are to be found the comforts, which are need- 
ed to make the home happy and life comfortable. The 
conclusion is that thrift nnd management brought 
about such results. No inheritance was handed down 
from ancestors, because, for-sooth, the labor of the 
slave was utilized in enriching the coffers of others. 

As citizens of America the same right belongs to 
the Peculiar people, to select their associates as to oth- 
er people. The sensitiveness cf their nature precludes 
the idea of overstepping the l.mits of propriety. The 
companionship of some are often forced upon these 
people, and when the fact becomes known the part- 
nership association dwindles to one p rt.ier instead 
of two. 

Beings which are unlike socially have no affinity for 
each other, and if forced for a time to mingle, will 
gradually separate like oil and water. The Peculiar 
people are able to look after themselves socially just 
as they do religously. 

They learned hou' to build andLonduct their church- 
es and now worship under ths^ir own roofs; they have 



BUSINESS AND SOCIAL CONDITION. 33 



also learned how to conduct their social functions with 
4he same grace and style that is seen in any gatheringf 
•f the fairest of America's citizens. 

Something is materially wrong with the make up 
of any one who desires to force himself into any social 
circle which prefers not to have his companienship. 
The republic is so spacious that all may enjoy them- 
selves and only go where wanted. 

Suppose places of amusements can and do exist 

without the patronage of some of the citizens; no one 

•hould become faint and commit suicide. There are 

•o many ways for becoming informed and progressing 

in thig life. 

Toe intelligence of a cHs=? of citizens is open for 
criticism when that class is happy and contenced to 
mingle and associate with those of the P^culiRr peo- 
ple who will fill posit'ons as serfs, and decline to "^it 
in a plate of amusement beside an educated and re- 
fined dark-skinned man or woman. 

Such is the proof that there are those among the 
fairest citizens incompetent to appreciate inte'ligetice 
and too obtuse to know that they are recedmg each 
day, while the Peculiar people are becoming a pow- 
er, relliiiously and socially. 

The same state of affairs exists rel itiveto the mod » 
of travelling. The separate car laws do not prevsct 
disasters, by any means. The more the laws are e'^- 
forced »he more God becomes incensed at »he treat- 
ment accorded to some of His cre.itures by others. 

All discrimination on the pa*-! of one set of ';itiz<eMs 
illustrates their inability to discern between gooJ 
fiund bad or moral and social obligation. 



34 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



I 



Those intended tobe injured are not, but come oul 
of the testing crucible only brighter^ healthier an^ 
wealthier. 



IMITATIVENESS AND RESULTS. 55 

DIVISION VIII. 

IMITATIVENESS AND RESULTS. 

Being American citizens, the Peculiar people do 
TiOt differ from the other citlsens; all men are imita- 
tors and are dependent on each other. If fine clothes 
will make an improvement in one person, it will do 
the same in the case of another; if change of locality 
improves the health of one person it will do the same 
for another similarly situated. 

Fine carriages, drawn by dashing steeds, make 
the impression of wealth and refinement in the case 
of one; it will do the same in the case of another. 

The whole American nation may be truthfully call* 
-ed imatators. 

This habit is found where ever men abide. These 
people have the same faculties; they may, and do, ap- 
preciate all that is grand and noble; they have shown 
their ability to do the same things and do them juNt 
as well as any other people; they are seen in fell 
avenues of life and great has been their improve- 
ment, in the midst of so much opposition. Nothing- 
daunts them in their onward march to higher citi* 
lenship and victory. 

Some mistakes are made by the habit of follovvin.sc 
the example of some who are suppo^^ed to do only 
what is right. 

Crime of any kind was almost unknown to the an* 
cestoro of the Peculiar people and crimes of certain 
natures were never committed. 

Being citizens make a great difference now; th =* 
fairest citizens, having a monopoly of all positions of 



36 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

honor and trust, are more given td appropriating the 
belongings of another to their own purposes than 
the darktst citizens are. 

The force of mimicing has been so effective, that 
in an unsuspecting moment some of the Peculiar peo- 
ple have gone to their ruin. 

Be it said, to the credit of the great majority, these 
people do not take to bad examples very readily. 

Not one crime has been committed by any of the 
Peculiar people which has not been committed by 
other members of th« national family. Be the crime 
of what ever nature possible, the dishonor falls on 
the whole people and one class may not say to an- 
other, " look, see how your people act". 

It behooves those who have had every thing in 
their favor to set good precedents, that those who 
follow may make few mistakes. 




MISS BEATRIZ LUCINDA CHASE. 



'l\iken Oct. 1904. 



THE POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE. 37 

DIVISION IX. 

The Political atmosphere. 

At last a most wonderful division in the composition 
of the Peculiar people has been reached. Having all 
the rights of citizens of the United States an intcreit 
in the political aff-iirs of the nation is but naturaL 
With the proper adjustment of the political atmos- 
phrfe every thing will work out for the glory of God 
and the upbuilding of humanity. 

The human body is constantly undergoing changes 
and the mind or soul which occupies the tenement of 
clay is also susccptibU to changes. Every thing 
changes as the years goby, and that individual who 
experiences no alteration in his physical and men- 
tal make up can never become a true American citi- 
zen. 

At the close of the war, when freedom came, the 
ex-slav9 felt that he owed to the republican party a 
debt which never could be paid. 

He felt that it was his duty to support that party be- 
cause it was the strongest in existence at that period. 
The principles of the republican party were not fully 
understood, but the simple name was all that attract-^ 
ed. The bitterest enemy could have concealed hie 
identity under the garb of republicanism. 

Some of the liberated beings knew that God had 
used the republican party as an instrument in brings 
ing to them the light of freedom; others thought that 
the party came into existence for no other purpose 
than to rescue them from bondage. 

A few of these poor, benighted souls really believed 



38 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

that the republican party shouldered arms, marched 
on tke field of battle, fought, bled and died, that free- 
dom might come to the enslaved. The tru« cause of 
the war of the rebellion was not made clear and some 
could not have understood what was meant by sav- 
ing the union. 

To'some, saving the union meant an object to b« 
seen or felt. How was the slave to realize a mean- 
ing when he was not permitted to educate himself so 
as to comprehend anything in books and papers. 

An attempt was made to save the union without 
coi'sideriHg the condition of the slaves with the re- 
sult that the Ruler of men's destiny was not satisfied 
so the effort proved a failure, The Divine Creator 
intended that in saving ©ne, all had to be rescued. 
Thus is seen the working cf Providence. ' God often 
saves His people through the very channel intended 
for their destruction. 

At any rate the republican party was regarded ag 
the best friend the new citizens had. As Christ had 
become the liberator of man from the bondage of sin, 
so had this party become the rescuer of slave men. 

Who can estimate the number of ex-slaves who 
lost their lives by allying themselves to that pariy? 
Men were driven from their families; men were killed 
for no other crime than that of being rapublicfcn. 

As everything is changing, has not a change been 
wrought in the attitude of the republican party, to- 
wards the dark-skinned citizens ©f this country? 

Are not the Peculiar people made to understand 
that the party which brought the light of freedom to 
the slaves, whether intentionally or not, is a thing cf 



THE POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE. 39 

the psst? 

Do not all political factions cease to love the ex- 
slave and his off-springs, after having used them to 
further their purposes? 

May not the Peculiar people, as citizens of the Unit- 
ed States, change also, and do those things which 
are best adapted to their surroundings? 

In so many instances are the Peculiar people im- 
posed upon, not because those imposing hate them 
so much, but because there is still a bitter feeling: 
against the principles ©f that party with which near- 
ly every member of the Peculiar people is allied. 

There is still the effort to preserve the union of the 
republic, which makes more forcible the intention of 
the republican party. 

Being men and citizens every one is expecttd to stud- 
y his own interest and not be told to do this or that. 

The disfranchisement of any citizens of this country 
is not right, does not reflect credit and will only suc- 
ceed for a time. 

Agitation, when conducted judiciously and honest- 
ly, does much towards helping a cause, but there are 
some mistakes being made by persons claiming to be 
friends of the oppressed. 

It is very hard to court the favor of a looker-on» 
who sees the life being crushed out of a people, and 
fays that nothing can be dona to save that life. 

These people have been true to the men and mtat- 
uresofthe republican party, almost regardless of 
their interests; for so often kave these people sup- 
ported the party of their choice and depended at tke 
same time for daily bread upon those who opposed 



40 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

the republican party. 

What is the state of affairs at present? The Pecu* 
liar people are trying to remain in the inclosure of 
republicanism and are followirjj the adage that "A 
rollins stone gathers no moss." 

The descendants of the party of Abraham Lincolri 
ar« destroying all the planks which formed a fence 
around the republican inclosure, trying at the same 
time to escape through the most convenient aperture. 
Some who were conceived and born in the republican 
party advocate changes because better results may 
be obtained. 

Mt^st the dark-skinned citizens remain In a position 
like Plaster of Paris images, and not exercise the 
fights given them in the constitution of this govern- 
ment? 

Be they men or beasts? Created in the likeness of 
God as all other people are, ii only becomes any 
who may b© inclined to control or dictate to cease at 
once and let them be guided by conscience. 

No part of the censtitution of the United States 
may be so construed as to allew some citizens the 
privilege of changing their political sentiments, and 
compel others to adhere to one, whether it is for their 
good or not. 

Surroundings and locality must influence the polit' 
ical inclinations of people. What maj be good for 
ioul and body in one section may be injurious in 
another. If only ene party existed and the desire of 
one man was the desire of all, then, there would be 
no reason for any change. 
The greatest opposing elements are in the northern 



THE POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE. 4? 

and southtrn sections. When the slayea were liber- 
ated, they were left dependent on the very persons 
from whom they had been taken. The former mas- 
ters were not pleased with the lois they had sustain- 
ed, and while they were eompelled, they were not 
over anxious to employ their ex-slaves to do their 
work. They made the best of the situation end the 
truth is that the Peculiar people have grown and de- 
veloped just as all the other people of the South 
have done. 

It must be remembered thai the South ha"? its 
many faults and the North is far from perfection, in 
its dealings with the Peculiar citisens. 

If it were possible for the republican party to give 
employment in the government to every dark-skinned 
man at the head of a family, it is doubtful whether 
such would be done. What, then must become of 
the Peculiar people? 

Talk will do no more fer the dark-skianed eitifeni 
than far the fairest. It is nil very well to say what 
the South should do, but it would be so much more 
acceptable if the republican party would treat the 
Peculiar people consistently. 

There are many who oppose the principles of the 
republican party in the northern section of the re- 
public, but there are more in the southern, for near- 
ly all the people, except the Peculiar, change their 
affiliations when they reach the South-land and ev- 
erything moves along smoothly. Why not permit 
all the people, then, to survey their surroundings and 
conduct themselves accordingly? 

Just as certain vegetable productioas are better 



42 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

adapted to certain localities, and do not thrive when 
transplanted to others, just so with principles; the 
South is not likely to receive the ideas of the North 
and make them productive of much good. The 
South is told to do what the North fails to accomplish. 

The ex-slave would have suffered untold depriva- 
tions had not his ex-master given him empFoyment, 
and at the present time, in n® section as much as the 
northern, are the Peculiar people more crowded out 
of all kinds of employment. 

The change from bondage was severe on the cx- 
slave holder; the party that was instrumental in free- 
ing the slaves failed to make any provisions for their 
future welfare. Thousands of acres of land, belong- 
ing to the government, could have been utilized as 
homes forthe freed-men, but they were left in an un- 
cultivated state. 

The land could have been given with the under- 
standing that all occupants would be expected, at ail 
times, to support the party which God had used in 
breaking asunder the chKir.s of slavery. 

Then the republican party, on looking ©ver its pos- 
sessions, could rightly say "They are mine, all niina". 

But these people were left in a state of infancy to 
eke out a living and citizenship the best they could. 

The result is to-day that the ex-slaves and their chil- 
dren make a Peculiar people, in a peculiar land breath- 
ing a peculiar atmosphere, surrounded by peculiar 
circumstances and in the midst of a most peculiar na- 
tion. 

Each section wants them yet no section level them, 
each political party tries to get along without them 



THE POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE. 43 

on account of the dislikes on« party has for the others. 

Since it is true that there are many in the republi- 
can party, who are opposed to the Peculiar people, 
and many in other parties who are willing to accord 
them their rights, as citizens, the Peculiar people 
mast think and act for their best interest. 

It is inconsistentto expect these people in the South 
to do like those in the North, it is against them. 

Whatever may be wrong with the southern section, 
the northern section has failed to produce any better 
material than the South. 

As slavery was a child of the S">uth, of course more 
of the offsprings of slavery are to be found there. 

The Peculiar people of the North mean well, but 
they do not help to better the condition of their 
brothers in the south-land, by telling them to do this 
and that. While one part of these people are in sym- 
pathy with the other, it is well for all concerned to 
know that there is no need for gratuitous advice at 
home. 

What does the disfranchisement of Ihesy people in 
the South mean, if it does not mean their disfran- 
chisement in the North, and every where the> are in 
great numbers? 

The South started the ball of disfranchisement to 
rolling and each state is inclined to keep it going. 

The South has but to put itself up as a model and 
the North will not be very tardy in taking a pattern, 
especially if the only ones compromised are the Pe- 
culiar people. 

The Peculiar people have adhered to one party,from 
the beginning of their existance, and now that the 



44 



A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



party of their choice can no longer find it convenitnt 
to pro-tect them, from the power which threatens to 
destroy their citizenship, they ar« forced to bestir 
themselves. 

Just below the horizon, coming up from the eiit, 
are the rays of happier days; days which 'will bring 
to these people equal rights before the law and the 
privilege to enjoy those rights. 



GOOD CITIZENSHIP. 45 



DIVISION X. 
The corner stone of good citizenship. 

Men have gon% to their graves an4 men are living, 
who have tried to solve the reason why all people of 
the United States are not alike; why some are limited 
and others are not; why the constitution of this gov- 
ernment is not a f rotection to all of its citizens, Ir- 
respective of complexion; why there are any Pecu- 
liar f eople in the land of liberty. The best way to 
reach a wholesome conclusion is to make some per- 
sons, feel that a great responsibility rests with them. 

The time has come, when the mothers, among the 
Peculiar people, must arouse themselves. A most 
lasting impression may and can be made on the 
young misd, and shall the mothers among these peo- 
ple be less considerate, ia regard to their off-springs, 
than the mothers of the brute creation, or of the 

feathered tribe? 
Many trails of character must bt corrected in early 

childhood, and it isthe dutf of the raotheri or the 

guardians to make such correction. 

When a disposition which implies inferiority, timid> 
ness, slothfuloess, abruptness or covetousness, man- 
ifests itself in a child, the mother cannot affor4 to ig- 
nore the condition of her child, nor leave that child 
to the care of providence. 

In the Holy Book we are told that children should 
be trained the way they are to go and when they are 
old they will not depart from that way. 

Every man, whether good or bad, was first a ehild, 
and in the childhood days the training should not be 



46 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

slighted; no pains should be spared in perfecting the 
child for the position waiting for him, namel}': that of 
an American citizen. 

Each child should be taught that it is just as im- 
portant to be a good citizen of the country called 
home as it is to be the ruler. 

Teach the child to feel that he is a king and that the 
greatest subject for him to govern is self, for the 
foundation for self government is laid at the mother's 
knee. Children, like vine-, will run wild unless prop- 
erly guided. 

At the age of comprehensiveness there should be in- 
stiilf.dinto the hearts of the Hi tie people the fact that, 
every one born onAmerican soil is anAmerican citizen 
and as such the laws of the land are to be respected; 
that each citizen of the republic is entitled to protec- 
tion because he is a part of this great nation. 

Children reflecton and emphasize the actions of their 
parents, or those who have the care of them, hence it 
is no very great task tostart \hem in the right direction. 

The history of American slavery will be handed 
down to generations yet to come and it is needless to 
poison the young minds to dislike those other citizens 
who differ in complexion, hair and features. Bodily 
slavery will never exist in the land of the free again. 
The history of America can never be separated from 
that of the slave; the two are inseparable. 

A true mother will teach her children only those 
things which produce good citizens. Iwdifierence and 
negligence are destructive habits and will not help 
children to become strong in this world, nor will ei- 
ther act as a pass-port in the world to come. 



.GOOD CITIZENSHIP. 47 

Mothers should associate themselves with their chil- 
dren; bscome partners in their joys and griefs, help- 
ing them to master many little difficulties connected^ 
with child life. As far as possible a complete knowl- 
edge of the disposition of children must be carefully 
studied and everything eradicated, which will in after 
years prove injurious. Subordinate social obligations 
and all others, if necessary, and make the little folks 
first, for they are to be the coming men and women 
of their nation. 

Nothing is better for developing the good and 
crushing the bad than positiveness with children. It 
is not wise to be too hasty, but very cautious in the 
manner of administering a correction if the end in 
view is for the betterment of the ones corrected. 

Have children to obey while young and when they 
reach the age of responsibility it will be quite natural 
and easy to complv with the laws by which their 
country is governed, Bjt if they are permitted to 
have their way in infancy, the inclination, throughout 
the youthful days, will be towards disobedience. 

The love of a mother fails short of its responsibili- 
ty when she is careless and indifferent as to the course 
a child may pursue; such mothers cannot give to the 
world children who will make the best citizens. 

Very often, children, with comfortable surroundings 
and educated mothers, give more trouble, as citixens 
than some belonging to a more unfortunate class. 

The nearest approach to perfection in berries and 
fruits is realized when they are given the best care, 
the proper temperature, no weeds allowed to grow in 
their midst; when they receive the highest cultivation 



r 



; 



48 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



possible, and yet they do not come up to expectations 
Thty are deformed, some of the prettiest having the 
tastt spoiled by some objectionable Insect. 

Sometimes a berry, in the wild state, is all that is 
required in looks as well as taste; but this is more oft- 
en the exception. 

In so far as the young is concerned, the same rule 
which is applied to the vegetable kingdom is applied 
to the animal. By the most careful training may 
mothers hope to get the best remits. 

Children ought never to be frightened into doing 
what they ate told to 4o by those, in whose care they 
are. Teach them to look to the officer of peace for 
protection when on the street instead of running away 
and crying. Shame on the mother who teaches her 
children to fear the policeman, by putting him in a 
false light. 

A very important thing is true politeness. Folite- 
ness to be used on some occasions and to be control' 
led by the color of the skin is not any good, but is to 
be avoided. A polite boy will treat all females prop- 
erly because they are females and because his early 
trainiag was not neglected. A polite girl will demand 
respect from all because many little things in her 
early life were given the proper attention, and when 
she ii not treated politely the blame is not hers, but 
belongs to some one who has not received the right 
instruction, who does not know that politeness costs 
nothing but is of considerable value to the oue pos- 
setsing it. 

Mock politeness, like sham modesty, has no depth 
aad never conceals the true character of any one. 



GOOD CITIZENSHIP. 49 

■ ~^~~— — •^^-- ■-■-■■■■ — - ■ ■■ -■ 

A true man will never permit the complexion of a 
woman to keep him from showing toothers the po- 
liteness instilled in him when he was a boy. 

It may be said that some children are neglected and 
in mature j^ears are obliged to learn lessons of true 
politeness. 



50 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

DIVISION IX. 
Unwholesome Practices. 

The school system which is quite the same through- 
out the United States, is a great one, and yet it is not 
without faults, which if corrected will improve the 
condiiians of many mothers, and cause them to hon- 
or their obligations^, 

Cookin:^ schools, sewing schools and kindergartens 
should be open to children who are born in the most 
hurnbie circumstances, and whose surroundings will 
not permit that training which will produce the best 
citizens. Children who are surrounded with all the 
comforts or even in moderate circumstances, need 
not be trained in such schools. 

What is the good of mothers if they cannot see af- 
ter their girls and boys; teach them to cook, sew and 
to perform all kinds of domestic work? 

There is work for the school teacher, but not that 
which should be done in the homes. The mothers 
must lay the foundation, upon which teachers are to 
build an intellectual structure. A very common ex- 
cuse given by many mothers, for the ill behaviour and 
bad manners of their children, is that all badness mani- 
fested in their children is learned in the kindergar- 
ten, the cooking or the sewing schools. 

The task of the school teacher, at its best, is a hard 
one, and no surprise should be expressed because so 
few marry after nursing and teaching children the 
very things which should have been lerirned at their 
mothers' knee, in their homes. 

The «chool house door might safely remain closed 



UNWHOLESOME PRACTICES. 51 

to some children, whose parents are educated, and 
only open 10 them to enter the hi.2:hest grades. Let 
mothers be more interested a.id impart to their chii- 
<lren a large portion of their knowledge. Relieve the 
teacher olthe responsibility of teaching ihe alo'Dabet, 
as great patience is lequired in so doing, and few 
teachers have an extra amount of pafience. 

Children are careful observers and an error of the 
teacher may cause years of annoyance to those re- 
sponsible in a parental way. 

Too much praise cannot be given to many teachers 
of the Peculiar people, for their untiring effort in try- 
ing to develop the best citizen?, but they are power- 
less to do the work of mothers and do justice to them- 
selves. 

The women of the Peculiar people have many ob- 
stacles to surmount in order to make pood mothers 
and good wives. They are the hardest worked wo- 
men, on the whole, in this broad land. They are not? 
always held in the proper estimation and treated with 
the same consideration, bv the men who take tbem 
to brighten life's pathway, and to make life worth 
living. 

If these women are to be up-to-da!e mothers, wifh 
the best children, they must be treated as queens in 
their homes and not as the scullions. 

Let the husband feel that the wife and mother in 
his home is as important as the wife and mother in 
his neighbor's home. How can some mothers, amon^ 
the Peculiar people, rise to that noble plain which 
distinguishes the true womanly mother? The time 
which should be devoted to home and family 



52 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

is all taken in doing the work of other people; until, 
weary and fatigued, they succumb to the demand of 
nature, evincing no interest in their home. 

A woman cannot do her duty to her children and 
home if she is required to do the work of a man. 
As a rule the men of the Peculiar people have to 
learn the importance of being at the head of a family. 
They are gradually showing their manhood along all 
the avenues of life, and the day is not distant when 
they will point with pride to their homes and say 
"Behold the coming citizens." 













^4 











'^^,^*"*^<iK)i>!>^ 



rri^:^' -5 ^-^ 



Taken Oct. 1904. 



WM. CAT.VIN CHASE. TR. 



EXCERPTS AND COMMENTS. 53 

DIVISION XII. 
Excerpts and Comments. 

"News of Interest to Afro-Americans." 

The above heading may be seen in most news-pa- 
pers owned and controlled by people who say that 
their papers are Negro Journals, published ii\ the 
interest of Negrees. 

All the news under the above head is prepared by 
enterprising firms, composed ot tlie fairest citizens 
and sold to men, styled Negroes, that they may pub- 
lish the same. 

"The Freeman, an Illustrated Colored Newspaper." 
Well, just surmise the appearance of news being illus- 
trated on colored paper. 

"Read The Defender, It is American in all Things. 
The Brightest and Bravest Exponent of the People." 
Three words less than a score and yet in the few 
words a volume is embodied. 

One edition of a newspaper "Published every Sat- 
urday in the interest of the Negro race" asked its 
readers to pay all subscriptions so that it may make 
temporary addition more permanent. The following 
is the head of the addition "SUPPLEMENT." All 
Supplements are owned and controlled by fair citi- 
zens. Where does the Negro part come in? 

The following clippings explain ;themselves and 
comment is unnecessary:- 

There are many writers and theorists 
who have grown gray trying to solve 
the Negro question. Meanwhile the 
Negro is progressing right along, thus 



54 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

solving: his own problem. No doubt 
some day these philanthropic people 
will discover that they have only wast- 
ed their time, as there is no Negro 
question. 

The Negro must learn to be an inde- 
pendent voter. He must learn to do 
that which will bring; to him the great- 
est honor and grreatest good results. 
It is no shame or disgrace for the white 
man to show his independence; why 
is it one for the Ntoro? It is not. and 
the time is not far distant when the Ne- 
gro will consult his own interest before 
casting his ballot.— 77/^ Columbus 
Standard. 



Elijah III was condemning strongly 
the St. Louis people for their treatment 
of the Negroes at the world's fair when 
he made this statement that the color 
line should not be drawn even in mar- 
riage. Dr. Dowie has previously hint- 
ed at his views of intermarriage, but 
was never so positive in his assertions 
against the drawing of the color line 
in marriage as today. 

"If one God hath created us are we 
not all of the race of Adam instead of 
being whites, blacks, or people of oth- 
er colors?" he asked. "There should 



EXCERPTS AND COMMENTS. 55 

be no racial distinction. What we 
want is to go back to priraative man." 
In closing his remarks on the race 
problem, Dowie predicted that the 
blacks in the South would soon pre- 
dominate unless the abuse of the col- 
ored people ceased. 



THE COLORED PRESS. 

The colored press shapes and molds 
public sentiment in tlie Negroe's be- 
half and every family should consider 
it indispensihle. Better do without 
some of the necessaries of life, than be 
without a colored paper. 

It is paving the way for the future of 
our race. 

We should support a colored paper 
in order that the good deeds of our 
race may be published, that our girls 
and boys may have first-class employ- 
ment. We believe in the doctrine that 
"God helps thosealone who help them- 
selves." We believe that so long as 
the color of a man's skin prevents his 
getting employment in white print 
shops, leading colored p§ople should 
spend their money with Negro shops 
which will give colored men and wo- 
men of character and ability employ* 
ment on the'r merit. We must try to 



56 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

help ourselves as we see the white 
man doing. — The Hornet. 



THE SUPREME COURT AND THE 
NEGRO. 
The expected has happened. The 
case involving the constitutionality of 
the new Constitution of Virginia> 
which was brought before the Supreme 
Courtby the Negroes of thatState, has 
been passed upon bv the court. The 
result was in line with a long list of 
precedents extending down to us from 
the infamous Dred Scott decision. "1 he 
United States Supreme Court has al- 
ways eitherdecided openly against the 
Negro in this country or avoided the 
contentions of colored people by most 
artful dodges behind hairsplitting tech- 
nicalities. So with this Virginia case. 
No relief was granted; the decision be- 
ing that relief could not be granted on 
matters which were past. The fact that 
the same Constitution which prohibit- 
ed black men from voting in the past 
still existed, and that relief was sought 
from future injustices under the same 
instrument was ignored. Nearly all of 
the Supreme Court justices are North- 
ern republicans. — The Voice of the Ne- 
gro. 



EXCERPTS AND COMMENTS. 57 



THE PRESS, 
*'It is not too much to sa)^ that the 
press is the only great organized force 
which is actively as a body upholding 
the standard of civil righteousness. 
There are mary political reformers 
among the clergy, but the pulpit as an 
institution is concerned with the king- 
dom of heaven not with the public of 
Amei ica. Therearemany publicspir- 
ited lawyers, but the bar as a profes- 
sion works for its retainers^ and no 
ia'A-defying trust ever came to grief 
from a death of legal talent to serve it. 
Physicians work for their patients and 
architects for their patrons. The press 
alone makes public interest its own. 
What is everybody's business is no- 
bod>'s business— except thr Journal- 
ist's;it is his by adoption, But for his 
care almost every reform would fall 
stillborn. He holds officials to their du- 
ty. He exposes secret schemes of 
plunder. He promotes every hopeful 
plan of progress. Without him public 
opinion would be shnpeless and dumb. 
He brings all classes, all professions 
together, and teaches them to act in 
concert on the basis of their common 
citizenship, 

•'Our republic and its press *ill rise 
or fall together. An able disinterest- 



58 A PECULIAR PEOPLE 

ed, public-spirited press, with trained 
intelligence to know the right and cour- 
age to do it, can preserve that public 
virtue without which popular govern- 
ment is a sham and mockery. A cyn- 
ical, mercenary, demagogic press will 
produce in tiu e a people as base as it- 
self. The power to mold the future of 
the republic will be in the hands of the 
journalists of future generations." 
— New York Tribune. 



SUMMARY. 59 



The oneness of principle which was so apparent in 
those who attempted to make connection between 
heaven and earth, by means of a tower, is developing- 
more and more each da5^ The Peculiar people are 
either absorbing or are being absorbed. This nation 
is slowly, but surely, falling in line with all other na- 
tionalities by outliving all lines of differences. Caste 
and proscription are now engaged in the last battle 
with right and justice and like the monster death are 
all but dethroned. 

The combining and uniting of the people of the 
earth is more in evidence each day. The language 
of one nationality is known to many others and no 
great surprise is caused by a man speaking many 
languages. It seems perfectly natural. 

Seventy years ago there were many sections of the 
globe unknown to civilized man; but to-day civiliza- 
tion has gone into the most remote regions and suc- 
ceeded in making researches in the interests of sci- 
ence and in the advancement of the kingdom of the 
Creator. The most perplexing discovery that re- 
mains to be made now is that of the exact position of 
the north pole. 

We are told that there is not anything new under 
the sun so no time need be lost in looking for some- 
thing which is new, we need only seek for the locality 
of an object. 

By the time the north pole has been found the Pe- 
culiar people will have been so shifted around and a* ^ v 
bout by the unseen power as to occupy their exact 



6o A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



i4 fetation as American citizens and wi'l have accorded 
to them all the honor which is given to any citizen of 
the United Slates, 

Accepting, as divinely true, the Biblical statement 
that "The first shall be last ?nd the last first" the Pe- 
culiar people have much to expect; they wiU soon feel 
and enjoy the full meaning of the exoiession. 

They will be the last to enj^^y the<"ul! benefits of all 
the privileges given by the constitution of the United 
States. The descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers 
have reaped the firs', fruits of the land and the descend- 
ants of American s'avery are being guided into the 
position to enjoy all the fruits which are to come. 

Race, race is what is heard coming from so many 
persons. Crowds rush to see the boat rare; v/onien of 
wealth and culture speculate at the horse race; men 
rush to their death in the automobile race and the 
small boy in his tattered garments is quite content 
to peep through a crevice in a fence to get a glimpse 
of the foot or bicycle race. 

People are people and may differ in many ways and 
j looks but all people l)elong to the one race ofm.an- 
'* kind created by God. All nations go to make the one 
great family of mankind. 

One of the best illustrations of the relation among 
the people, of the human family, is the swine. He is 
divided into many parts as articles of food; in fact 
nearly all of the animal is used as food f*nd yet the ori- 
gin of ham, shoulder or bacon is found in the com- 
mon hog. The name given to the different parts does 
not change the fact that the father of all those parts 
is the hog. 



SUMMARY. 6i 



After God had created the heavens and the enrth 
and all there in and there on, man was created. The 
one man, Adam, was father of the entire human race, 
and while it is true Eve was given as a wife to Adam, 
he was really the father of his companion. The be- 
ginning of all mankind is traced back to Adam. 

That only one national government can exist in the 
United States at the same time is clear to any intelli- 
gent mind, but there is no law to fix the complexion 
of the people who are citizens. 

Color and race are not synonymous and when the 
wrong interpretation is given either term the results 
are not the most pleasant. 

As all citizens are somewhat colored, some more 
than others and an affirmative reply is correct to the 
question "Are all men colored?" 

Manv citizens of the United States, living at the ex- 
pense of the government, to the extent of receiving 
good salaries for their services, insist that they are 
Negroes and demand recognition on the statement 
that they are Negroes; they take pride in having oth- 
ers, living under the same flag and constitution, refer 
to all dark-skinned citizens as Negroes. 

Yet the very instant one of the fairest citizens sug- 
gests the propriety of all the people who claim to be 
Negroes riding in separate cars, sitting on back seats 
in places of amusements, eating behind a screen at an 
inn there is general dissatisfaction. 

Can a better name than Peculiar people be applied 
to the descendants of the American slaves? All the 
other citizens of this republic are moving onward 
toward the much coveted prize, human rights. The 



62 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

spirit cf any who boldly assert that pU they hrive,say 
or do is in the interest of a certain few, is a very car- 
row one and does no< reflect credit on the possessor. 

Books and in fact allliteratiire is intended to elevate 
the reader. Mere cariosity wiii hardly cnuse an indi- 
vidual to pernse one page of a paper if the name of 
it is repulsive. 
^ Let all names not strictly in keeping with thespir- 

'/>:>^ it of freedom be abolished. 

The folly of appealing to every national body of 
meTi, wlo meet to consider plans for the general good 
of all citizens, for an expression of some kind relative 
to the Peculiar people, will some day be manifested. 
Men may not longer expect to enter the political are- 
na by the color of their sktn, but rather on their mer- 
it as cit'zen?. 

■ Many of the fairest citizens are turned down on ac- 
count of incompetency to fill positions of honor and 
trust. 

Special legislation for some because l heir fore-fath- 
ers were slaves means special legislaiion for others 
because their fore-fathers were slave owners and lost 
all their slaves at the close of the rtbellion. Spe- 
cial legislation has been the cause of the introduc- 
tion of the hideous monster, jim-crow. 

There is no more need for the separate car law now 
than there was thirty years ago. There may be cer- 
tain modes of transportation tolerated in this life, but 
one thing is sure, all are placed on one common level 
in the plan of redemption. 
. A demand for men who have the courage to prop- 
Jf" erly interpret and administer the laws of the land is, 



SUMMARY. 63 



of the most importance. The Peculiar people are 
good judges of good men and must exercise that judg- 
ment m selecting men to lule. 

The sesitimental day of public affairs is a thi'ig of 
the past, and any who stop to complain that they are 
ignored on ?ccornt of their color will not retard the 
progress of the American people, but will find them- 
selves no nearer the enjoyment of complete^citizen- 
ship a hundred years hence than they are to-day. 

The Peculiar people do not hrlp themselves by go- 
ing to other countries with their complaints. All of 
their troub'es arise on the Avnerican soil and must 
be adjusted on American soil by Americans. 

Sympathy may be very much in place at a certain 
time, but as the United States is not subject to any oth- 
er nationality there is no need for the outside to be 
called upon to express their feelings in regard to 
any set of citizens. 

Respect for the individual who carries his private 
affairs to his neighbor is lowered and the same i» 
true of any of the members of the national family. 

All national powers regard the United States as be- 
ing well developed and competent to care for all who 
are its citizens. 

The same pride that actuates and accents the acts 
and expressions of the fairest citizens must control 
the Peculiar people; then there will be more harmony 
in the land. 

An utter disregard for many insults and wrongs 
is necessary in order to accomplish the desired re- 
sults. The Lord, while on this earth, suffered Him- 
self to be insulted, in order to triumph and become 



64 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

Master of all the earth; if He could leave His heav- 
enly home and endure much humiliation from his infe- 
riors, can not the Peculiar people wait all their ap- 
pointed time with less murmuring? 

All men who have taken upon themselves the re- 
sponsibility of preaching and calling upon the people 
to repent of their sins, are accountable for much. 
The preacher w^ho stands before the Peculiar people 
must advise endurance and all other preacheis must 
dwell on the following:- "How can a man love God 
whom he hath not seen and hate his brother whom 
he hath seen? Such a man is a liar and the truth is 
not in him." 

The man who occupies a pulpit in a house dedicat- 
ed to the worship of God, the doors of which areshut 
in the face of men, because of tlieircompiexion, must 
preach a false doctrine, and God have mercy on those 
who claim to be saved behind such doors. 

The medium through which a fair skinned ritieen 
is saved is identically the same as that through which 
the dark skinned one is required to pass. 

That the Peculiar people are good church workers, 
is shown by the costly structures, towering heaven- 
ward, all over the American land. 

This is no strange land for these people and there 
is no need for them to hang their harps upon a willow 
tree. 

Join the happy chorus and sing the Lord's song at 
morning and again at evening. 

I know no land of all the earth 
So dear, so beautiful and grand 

As the one to which I owe my birth; 
This lovely American land. 



SUMI^IARY. 65 



All the text books are so arranged as to educate 
the minds along the things which will make the best 
citizens. The children of dark complexion receive 
instructions from the same kinds of books usea for 
all otlier children and should therefore be taught to 
honor £.11 national songs and emblems. 

The homes, apparel and deportment of many, yes 
most, of the Peculiar people are models and are ex- 
act copies of the best citizens. 

The fairest citizens have always had the good things 
of the land, so there is nothing for them to do except 
admire the advancement made by their darker bro- 
thers. 

Social riffairs will continue to regulate a standard. 
No mm uf the Peculiar people will fo ce his atten- 
tion on a woman of the fairest skin unless he receives 
some inducement There are brutes, in the shape of 
men, of ali complexions, but they are not men. 

Be it said to the credit of the Peculiar people, ther« 
are many fair skinned ciiizens who consider the qual- 
ifications of men and women of more importance than 
the color of the skin. 

"Old things have been done away with and all 
things have become new." Party affiliations are not 
as they once were, because men of to-day are not as 
men used to be. In the land of the free, nothing is 
now absolutely more free han actions and speech. 

The executive head looks out for the best interests 
of himself and those about him; the humble citizen 
must do the same. 

In union there is strength and for this reason thcr« 
has been a union of the blue and gray, the very 



66 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

thought of which a few years ago entered not in the 
heart of any. Unless the Peculiar people come in as 
common brothers the union will eventually be com- 
posed of all the fairest citizens, to the utter exclusion 
of the dark ones. Such a union will the union be, 
when the union of the fairest is complete. 

The Peculiar people have little else to do except to 
comply with the requirements of the laws of their 
country. All who are familiar with the reasons which 
made the fore-fathers leave their mother country and 
how the settlers treated the Indians, will not be sur- 
prised at the treatment given the Peculiar people. 

The Peculiar people should also hold Holland ac- 
ccuntable for their present condition as the Dutch 
traders introduced slavery in the new country. The 
right way however is to make the best of the situation, 
as the hand of the Great King is guiding the ship. 

There are members of the republican party saying 
that it is best to drop the Peculiar f eople out of poli- 
tics and have "A white man's party." The democrat- 
ic party has not been receiving support from the Pecu- 
liar people hence it asks no favors, but will count ev- 
ery vote in its favor, no matter by whom it is casted. 

There is only one thing for the Peculiar people to do 
and that is to be truly American in every sense of the 
word; when this position is assumed the respect of the 
other citizens will be assured. 

The fairest republicans c f the North express such 
sentimer;ts as are best suited to th.it section, but 
n:any of them wlio chance to go South to live, lose no 
tjnie in adopting the policy of the South. 

They get the correct pu's.^tion of affairs, political 



SUMiMARY. 67 



and otherwise, and are prepared to fall in line at the 
shortest notice. 

The dark-skinned republicans of the North willingly 
advise their dark brothers in the South what to do 
and what not to do. The one in the North knows 
nothing of southern affairs except what is conveyed 
to him. 

Circumstances may cause an adviser living in the 
North to move South, and he begins to grow clammy 
as soon as he crosses the dividing line and before 
being introduced to the South as champion of human 
rights, his power of speech is lost. What a changed 
person. 

No attempt is made to do the things formerly done 
in the North, nor is any advice given to the southern 
people. 

Citizens may not receive the protection guaran- 
teed in the constitution, but such a failure will not 
justify negligence on the part of any. 

The memory of the conlederacy is perpetuated, 
and kept fresh in the minds of the people through 
the Annual Grand Camps. Notwithstanding this, 
the constitution of the United States protects ttiese 
satne people, because ihey are citizens. The num- 
ber of new camps added to the original number in 
nineteen hundred and four increased the whole to 
one iiundred and twenty-one. 

The Grand Army Republic honors the South for 
what it has done to the extent of having had one of 
its commanders extend an invitation to the grand 
commander of the seventh annual session of the 
Grand Camp, Confederate Veterans, Department of 



68 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



Virginia, and this is the reply to the invitation:- " I 
decline this invitation in the most courteous terms, 
and state my reasons for doing so. Summarized, 
these reasons were substantially that the speaker still 
loved the memories and principles of the confederate 
struggle, and while he had loyally and in good faith ac- 
cepted the results of the war he was as fully convinced 
now, as in 1861, that the cause was a righteous one; 
aad he could, therefore, never willingly join with 
those who meet to rej jice that we did not succeed in 
that struggle. 

That in ihe-:evvar celebrations it seemed to me that 
there was no common or congenial ground on which 
the soldiers of these two armits cou'd stand, that in 
the-e meeimgs we saw things from opposite points 
of view, and hence the recitals which would make 
me sad, and vice versa. 

The above proves conclusively that men may 
adhere to their own convictions and still berespercled 
as citizens. 

Just t'iink of the North at one time assuming to Jic- 
tale to the South and afterviards making all kinds of 
overtures to the South. 

If confederates are invited to join the Grand Army 
of the Republic in its celebrations, the Peculiar people 
ought at least be allowed to be silent or join hands 
with any citizens when such actions are lor the good 
of those concerned. 

The cry is ascending that the Peculiar people are 
not protected in the South. 

These people will never be protected in the South 
unless they do as all southerners do, and Vi-hen th«y 



SUMMARY. 69 



prove their friendship for those with whom they live 
and upon whom they depend for a living, they will 
be protected. 

The Norlh has done anr is doing every thing to be 
on g:ood terms wilh the South. 

The Peculiar people bving S©uth cannot serve 
two masi ers at the same time; they must love the one 
who administers to their daily needs while the other 
remains at a given distance and says he would do 
more, but is powerless. 

In a Semi Centennial Anniversary, of the repub- 
lican party the presiding officer recalls the history ot 
the party and makes mendon of the Party's achieve- 
ments as follows:- 

" Fifty years ago we wi re confronted here at Sara- 
toga by an enactment threateningour national exist- 
ence. That U.1S the Nebraaka bill, abrogating the 
Missouri compromise. We saw that our cherished 
coMstitution-il rights and liberties were about slip- 
pinsi from our grasp. We saw that our rcpi biican 
fjrbn of governmeiit was ii danger of being chasigcd 
to an ol garcy, and if we vanttd to .ontmuca repub- 
lic, we had !0 unite in forcing a party to maintain and 
defend it. We knew that such a party would have a 
long and arduous struggl-s before it, that it would 
encounter storms, dangers and difficulties that could 
not be foreseen. But we knew also that it was the 
onlv wav to save the nation's life. ^»d so we took 
the risk. The new party wat born, born an infant, 
but des'ined to grow to b3 agiant. 

The republican party entered upon its career of fif- 
ty years. It led the way in emancipating the slaves, 



7d A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

in defending the flag:, in maintaining: the Union, and 
is restoring: national peace and prosperity. In 
all that good work it had the co-operation of patri- 
otic and loyal democrats. 

Now in later jears it has dealt with the controver- 
sy over silver and ^old; gold has given us the cold 
ftandard and the best currency in the world. It has 
given us a tariff which, if not perfect, is nevertheless 
belter than ever before devised, one that has raised 
the wages of the workingman and encouraged tho 
enterprises of the farmer, the merchant and the 
manufacturer. It has watched the struggle between 
capital and labor protecting each in its rights and 
opportunities, forbidding either to oppress the other, 
and reminding both that they should be partners, not 
enemies in the march of American progress. It has 
expanded the national domain and increased the na- 
tional prestige and power. It has delivered the 
Spanish colonies from their oppressors, given inde- 
pendence to Cuba, and helped all tho others on- 
ward toward peace and self-government. 

In short, we find that the republican party has been 
what its name implies. It is the party of the repub- 
lic itself". 

In the above quotation it is admitted tfiat the re- 
publican party had the co-operation of loyal demo- 
crats. 

All political factions place a premium on American 
citixensh'p, and the Peculiar people must not only 
look out fur themselves, but associate and assimilate 
with those about them, 
O.ic's welcome may be worn out in the house of his 



SUMMARY. 71 



friend. 

Yes, the sentimental day, so far as tht Peculiar 
people are concerned, has become a by-gone day and 
each act performed by the very highest official pow- 
ers emphasizes the fact. The Supreme Court can 
only deal with men, living under the protection of 
the Constitution of the United States, as citiiens, 
and not as white and colored men. 

The men in the front rank of the republican party 
and all other parties know that tke further devalop- 
ment of the United States of America depends upon 
the united effort of the citiiens. 

When a man is elected and inaugurated as Presi- 
dent of the United States, that man is President of 
all the people, no matter by what party he is elect- 
ed nor by whom he i» opposed. The duty of the 
man so installed is to cement the people and increase 
harmony where discord reigns. 

All the men of the other parties are not bad be- 
cause a few give vent to expressions unmanly and 
selfish. The Peculiar people do not wish to be 
jut^ged by the bad acts of some of the dark skinned 
citizens; nor should all the people living in the South 
be cond mned because some of the fair skinned ones 
are heartless and brutal. 

It is not because the writer Is a Virginian by birth 
that she has words of commendation for the South, 
but she knows well that in thai section are some of 
the best ir'u nds of the Peculiar people. If the entire 
South were opposed to the dark skinned citiiens 
would there be dotted all over that section schools 
for the instruction ^f the ignorant? 



72 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



Why is it so many of the accomplished educators, 
at every opporiunity, assemble in the • outhland? 
One reason is, that in the South the people are hos- 
pitable and the schools are good. 

There are men in authority considered to be the 
best friends of the dark skinned people.who are asbu- 
ter enemies as the southern Tillman or Graves., but 
they manage to conceal iheir enmity until something 
unexpected happens. 

An illustration of the bitter spirit in the North a- 
gainst the dark skinned peeple was given when the 
son of General Ulysses S. Gra..t recommended that 
a fair skinned man, servmg under him, be dismissed 
from service because he married a woman, the wo- 
man of Lis choice and the woman he loved sufficient- 
ly well to have the world call his wife, and a descend- 
ant of American slavery. 

The friends of the descendants of American slav- 
ery are legions and the enemies are scattered all over 
the American land. 

The executive head sets an example, for cultivat- 
ing t!ie fiend.-hip of the southern people, and why 
should not the Peculiar people follow. 

In ar.other division of this book the author says 
that the North does every thing possible to please 
the South, and it may be said also that the republi- 
can party is uilling to do many things to better the 
conditions of the citizens in all the southern section. 

The fol'ovving bit of information proves the truth 
of the statement that there is a union springing up 
between the North and the South, the blue and the 
gray; a union between the fairest citizens of all sec- 



SUM}.rARY. 73 



tioiis and if the d.irk skinned citizens do their duty 
they will not permit their.;>elve3 to be influenced by 
any power detrimental to their own interests. 

" Mrs. James Long^street is tl:.e wideband was the 
second wife of (leneral James Longstreet, of confed- 
erate fame. The President and Postmaster General 
Wynne decided upon the removal of Colonel Hen y 
P. Farrow, the postniAster at Gainesville, and the ap 
pointment of Mrs. Longstreet. A post office inspect- 
or who recently went to Gainesville to investigate a 
complaint that Colonel Farrow was not a citizen of 
that place, but lived in another county, reported that 
the charges were true, Colonel Farrow being a resi- 
dent of Lumpkin county, Ga. Colonel Farrow has 
been a lifelong republican in Georgia, and has been 
postmaster at Gainesville for six or seven years. 

There has been some question as to the citizen- 
ship ©f Mrs. Longstrect in Gainesville, but there is 
thought to be no doubt of that. General Longstreet 
lived th«re after the civil war. She is about thirty- 
five years old, and at the time of her marriage to the 
confederate general she was editor and owner of a 
Georgia paper. She is a bright, attractive woman, ful- 
ly qualified for the position. It is possible, howev- 
er, that the Georgia republican machine, ofwhich- 
Colonel Farrow is a member may attempt to make a 
fight on the confirmation of the appointment." 

Mothers must do their duty, so that when their 

children grow to manhood and womanhood they 

may properly coostrue, and if necessary execute, all 

laws pertaining to positiot s they may fill. 

i Thf adTAnC9m9Ht mad« by properly training the 



J 



y 



y 



74 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

young minds to aspire to grand and responsible po- 
sitions is more and more observable cachyear^ 

Many of the older people are willing to beconie as 
children in order to have their ?tern proclivities re- 
modeled; they feel the lack of such training as the 
children of this era should receive. Mothers of 'o- 
day have better advantages, in all respects, than 
those of fifty years ago. 

In some way a child may have its back broken; or 
it may sustain the loss of a hand or limb, from which 
mishap he becomes deformed, and what is the re- 
sult? It he lives to become a centenarian, he is an 
object of pity. He is unable to cope with his fellow 
citizens in life's ups and downs. 

It is then important to protect the child from harm 
in any form if perfection in manhood is desired. 

It is also of importance to know that the child is 
not crippled nor deformed in his training, for after 
reaching the age of manhood he may not only be an • 
object of pity but an object to be avoided. 

Mothers must feel the importance of being polite ' 
to their own children. An expression of thanks for 
a glass of water or a chair, delivered to a motht-r at 
her request, will make the little heart expand with 
wntold pride, when the child knows of its abilhy to 
be of service to its mother. 

Trust not a child to fate, feeling that all omissions ^ 
can be supplied in after years, 
^ All children, of the Peculiar people, need the • 
watchful attention of their mothers and especially • 
the jirls. Without nice girls all hope- for good- • 
m©t*iers will be dead. They must not be exposed,' 



SUMMARY. 75 

even in caics of severe poverty. While youiife- th«y 
are thoughtless and forget that their every move- 
ment and expression are materials in the foundation 
of older years. 

Sometimes when the mother is the only means of 
support, the father's place being vacant, girls are 
seen carrying heavy burdens on thtir backs or heads. 
These ?irls are often insulted and humiliated to the 
extent of losing much of their girlish pride. 

To compel a girl to carry parts of torn down 
houses to an humble home for fire wood is one kind 
of economy, and yet it is often over balanced by a 
waste of food on the part of a car'='less mother. 

A thoughtful mother will study economy in all her 
affairs and never permit her girls to do things detri- 
mental. 

A father is not pefect and will often be found on 
street corrers discussing topics and plans of no use 
to his w- Ifare, and his wife toiling to eke out an ex- 
istence for herself and children. When fathers can- 
not get employment and mothers have the care ©f 
the family resting upon them, they should then, if at 
no other ime, object to the girls becoming public 
carriers; ke^p the girls in and let the husbands and 
fathers go out. 

Not many boys of the fairest citizens, much less 
thei-- girls, are to be seen with luggage similar to 
whatm ny grisofdark coaiplexion carry. There is no 
real assistance given a fa her by exposing his chil- 
dren; better let him have an opportunity to demon- 
strate his fitness for the position of his own selec- 
tion. 



76 A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 



One peculiar thing a^out the darker citizens is the 
inability to let a burden rest •n the proper founda- 
tion. Sympathy for one individual leads to imposi- 
tion on another. 

The attention of all the people, regardless of com- 
plexion, should be to the proper training of the young, 
in order that the highest types of American citizens 
may be realized. While it is true that the mothers 
V of dark complexion have grave responsibilities 
upon them, the time and importance of the age de- 
mand that all mothers look after those in their keep- 
ing. 

Every vestige of previous condition of servitude 
is disappearing and there is no use to discuss the 
rough side of people. The bad portion of the dark 
skinned people are simply some of the bad citizens 
and the bad fair skinned people, and they are le- 
gions, are simply bad citizens. E/rry nationality on 
the universe has its quota of bad members, except 
those who escape to the United States. 

Perseverence has advanced the Peculiar people lo 
their present position and has overcome the many 
obstacles which have tried lo hiHdtr them. They 
have been given strength to bear all that has been 
put upon them and will according to their faith 
continue to receive aid from the Divine Hand. 

There are many excellent reasons why the name 
''Peculiar" is so well adapted to all who in any way 
are related to those people who were held in bond- 
age, in the early history ofthe United States, and 
one is because these citizen's rights and opportuni- 
ties have b?en. and are yet, abridged. The best reason 



SUMMARY. 77 



for styling them "Peculiar" is that they are equal to 
the requirements of law and will make as good citi- 
xens as those who have always enjoyed all the priv 
ileges of this country as citizens. 

It muft be remembered that the men who com- 
posed the Circuit Courts, in the early history of th« 
United States, never dreamed of the people expand- 
ing and becoming as intelligent as they are today. 

Such was beyond their conception as is shown by 
their interpretation of the word *^white". 

The following appeared in the columna of the New 
York Sun:- 

**By white is meant Caucasian. This is silly, but 
ii is the Circuit Court interpretation. A Mongo- 
lian is floi -t Caucasian, and is therefore not a wnite 
person. Neither is a Ma ay, a Hindoo, an Arab, an 
Egyptian. Under the term white, says Judge Saw- 
yer, is included only the Caucasian race, whatever 
that may mean, and the Court does noi tell us." 

All definitions are the results of individual opin- 
ions and a man is not an &pe simply because anoth- 
er man chooses to call him one. 

The correct definition of man is found in the Bi- 
ble and mothers must take that Book as their guid* 
Ih training their children to be good citizens. 

The author of this work is a mother and reserves 
the riftht to tell her children, as all good mothers will 
do, that they are not Negroes, Afro-Americans nor 
any thing less than American citizens, being born un- 
der the Stars and Stripes and on the American soil, 
and in the likeness of the Greater.. 

Under a constitution which knows no man on se- 



L. of C. 



7S A PECULIAR PEOrLE. 



count of prc\ ion* condition oi servitude, "Al] per- 
sons born in the allegiance of the United Statea (ex- 
cept children of foreign embassadors) are citizens. 
(U. S. R. S., Sections 1992, 1993.)" 

A blind man knows not the color of the fragrant 
roses and yet he is capable of distinguishing them 
by the strength of their odor. 

Not by the descendancy nor by the color of the skin 
are good citizens to be determined, but by their 
power and influence, in the midst of their fellow be- 
ings. 

No mothers among the Peculiar people need con- 
sider themselves blessed because they were not 
themselves bond women. 

The woman who boasts that her parents v/ere nev- 
er slaves has no more in her favor than her neigh- 
bor whose parents were held in bonds. 

While some may have been fortunate in never hav- 
ing been enslaved theirancestors were slaves. 

Every dark, skinned woman who has risen to any 
prominence, had to stru^jgle against the tide of op- 
pression. 

If the advantages were different and better, there 
would be no necessity for idle boasting;. 

The sami treatment is given to all, who prove by 
their lives that they have the proper conception of 
true womanhood. 

The dark skinned citizins who boast of having en- 
joyed the rights of citizenship all their days are in 
the same bo.it with the po©r fair skinned citizens, 
neither really knew what freedom was until the 
»h*ckles had fallen from the American ilaves, then 



MB 10 3. 



SUMMARY. 79 



all were freed. Then all had an opportunity for de- 
delopment, and today those who were slave«, •r 
whose parents were slayer, are in the front ranks. 

Mothers must have high moral, social, and intellect- 
ual aspirations. 

Shams count for naught, and will not stand th« 
test in the time of trials 

If mothers amoni? the dark skinned people dis- 
charge their duty to themselves, to their children 
and tu their God, what will the out come be? 

Journalists among these people will cease to be 
any thing except American citizens; professional 
men will receive credit for being masters of their 
profession; business men will get the undivided sup- 
port of thtir fellow beings; in all dealings of man with 
man thf^ color of skin the will not be considered. 

The best illustration of what the people of the Unit- 
ed S?a es W'li be, is f >und in a pallatable combina- 
tion, mado by the good house keeper. 

Thi> go<^>d woman will take of fruit, many kinds; 
of vegetables, an assortment; of spices, a variety. 
Mixed w>th the articles named will be acids and 
sweets. When all are well cooked together the 
whoU is very pleasant to the taste. The many col- 
ors, and t istej have been so blended as to become 
one. 

All the people who make this great nation will 
be bo ind by one common tie and the law which pro- 
tects the jc^eat man will protect his humble neighbor; 
the children of the poor man will lift their voices in 
I the moving throng and sing:- 

** My country 'tis of thee. Sweet laud of liberty, 

OftheelsiMg." 



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